Things to consider when buying a guitar.
There are guitars all price, and although a guitar very cheap is not made with the best wood or carefully, to play at a gathering of friends do not need a high quality instrument. Nor is it necessary that is new, may be purchased a used guitar in good condition, good quality, and affordable price. There are several easy tests done to check if a guitar will sound good. Of course if you can it is best to buy a guitar medium quality, it should not spend much on his first guitar.
Sound quality depends on the design and type of wood used, but you can check using the ear. Pressing the open strings, the sound must be sustained over time. May help if you compare it with the sound of a high price guitar, which will be probably very different, but will have a better idea of the real limitations of the cheap guitars.
There are guitars with "sound fret", ie, its construction is so faulty that by tightening a string over a fret, the string is a short distance from the next fret, and when strum the vibration causes crash against the fret, producing a defective sound, like it vibrates a metal over another, like the lid of a pot. Must prove all the strings in all frets. It is unthinkable in a quality instrument, but if the price is very low it is worth taking the trouble to check it.
Also there are guitars that "tells fibs". It is another defect that may have low-priced guitars, the frets are not properly placed, and is almost impossible to play the guitar, because they sound is out of tune. A simple preliminary test is to compare the fundamental "harmonic" with the sound you get when you press that string at the twelfth fret, which is at the junction between the handle and the guitar body. To get sound the fundamental "harmonic" hold one finger slightly on middle of the string, and take away the finger immediately after pressing the string. If it sounds, the sound is an octave higher than the free string, very clean and sustained. This note should be equal to that obtained by pressing the string at the twelfth fret. Logically, the sound of the "harmonic" is much better, longer, but the important thing is that the is the same note. Although a guitar does not pass this test, could be used to accompany, if the strings are not pressed below the third or fourth fret, though it is a defective instrument.
There are guitars "soft" and "hard", which it depends on the distance of the strings to the frets. In a guitar "soft" this distance is the minimum necessary to avoid the "sound fret" and the fingers which have to step on the strings (especially novice) will get more easily a clean sound without a lot of pressure, which is very difficult achieve at first practice. It is also useful that you compare this in the guitar with another good quality guitar.
Anyway, the most complete test of a guitar is the test made for a guitarist, performing a song. So it would be best to go buy the guitar accompanied by someone who know play, as need not do the tests above because by simply pressing the instrument already will realize its limitations. There are also music shops that offer advice and good after sales service, which is important.
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